The antibody core will generate monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) for the study of oral pathogenesis of gammaherpesvirus infections. Monoclonal antibodies will be generated to be used to (1) characterize viral antigens and (2) to study the immune response to known viral antigens. For project 1, Mabs will be generated to rhesus lymphocryptovirus (LCV) gene products to study latent and lytic infection. Additionally, we proposed in later years of the project, to correlate the acute rhesus macaque response to LCV with the antibody repertoire of individuals with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Mabs will be generated to RRV (project 2) to study Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) proteins and will be used in immunohistochemistry to study KSHV gene expression in the oral cavity (Project 3). Human-Mabs, produced from the B cells of individuals infected with KSHV. The development of human monoclonal antibodies and the study of antibody responses have been a long-standing focus of the laboratory. We have numerous collaborations with others in the field of virology, microbiology and oncology to study antibody responses to natural infections/diseases vaccines and cancer. The combination of this experience and the availability of efficient fusion partners will contribute to the success of this core.